BY CATE HENDERSON
Kingston Seedy Saturday is upon us, and for those of us who grow at least some of our own food, March 14 is a very exciting day! Seedy Saturday, this year held at LCVI High School, is the place to go to trade seeds, find out what seeds your neighbours have grown (if they haven’t already been bragging about them since fall), learn more about vegetable varieties you may never have heard of, and swap stories of gardens past, present and future.
Even in such a bustling, busy environment as Seedy Saturday, it is still possible to feel very peaceful at heart because we know everyone there is participating with a view to make the world just a little bit better – friendlier, more neighbourly, more wholesome and healthy for partnering with nature and connecting with our food, pollinators and soil. Happy faces smile at you from throughout the room, and pleasant surprises and connections appear at each community table and booth you visit.
Last year, one of our planning committee members took a sabbatical to travel around the world visiting historically-important seedy places, like Garden-Organic in the UK and the Vavilov Institute in Russia. She will be sharing her new global perspective on seeds with her own community at this year’s Seedy Saturday, which may very well help us here in an age of harmonized trade deals and global partnerships! Another talk will feature a panel discussion on community gardens, including ideas for saving good quality seeds in your small plot. Of course, you may find that the most educational experience of the day is chatting with Karen ten Cate at the seed swap table, or pollinating the giant model flowers with the kids.
New this year, the Kingston Area Seed System Initiative (KASSI) will be taking orders for tomato seedlings, to be grown at one of our members’ farms and delivered at just the right time to plant in your garden. This will be the first community-wide fundraiser dedicated to funding our very own public community seed bank, so please consider ordering some tomato seedlings!
By sponsoring Kingston’s Seedy Saturday, the Sisters of Providence prove that they do, indeed, “have faith as a grain of mustard seed.” A mountain of benefit appears in Kingston on that day, “and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” – Matthew 17:20